Dar Zamaria Aleppo

... were also handed over to the bus driver. The good thing about Singapore passport is that its red in colour while Turkish passports were like dark blue. So it was easy to spot mine and my passport wasnt included in that batch. Rule of thumb that I set down before I left for this trip : whereever my passport goes, I go. So I did not board the bus. The bus driver saw my confusion and told me to wait. I asked for my passport and he said my passport was still in the office. And ...

... name I can't recall, but featuring crunchy bits of fried pitta. We then headed for the historical (Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill are among the notable guests) and impressive (but overpriced) Baron Hotel, one of the few places in town that serves beer. There we met the soft-spoken but articulate Matt, an Aussie of Lebanese descent who had recently moved to Beirut to get in touch with his family and his roots. We compared notes on the costs, logistics and ...

... new city.<br> <br>Although being more interesting than Damascus in some ways I would have to say that I enjoyed Damascus more than Aleppo. This may simply have been the fact that Damascus is the better known of the two, and since I was little I'd heard fantastic stories about it, or it may have even just been the fact that we hit Damascus first &#8211; either way, both are great cities to visit and I'd happily go back to either in an instant.

... to pray. And not. a. single. person. shows. up. So we begin the negotiating! I eventually got him down to 500 Syrian Pounds ($10) from 1,000 and we're on our way. The driver dropped me off at the entrance to the Souk (old market) in Aleppo and told me to walk through... after about 5 minutes a really wonderful university student, Mohamed, approached me and walked with me to the first and cheapest hotel in my guidebook, Tourist Hotel, which was about 20 min away from the Souk ...

... around me spoke Arabic. Now, at this point I have mastered all of 3 words in Arabic - "Hello (Marhaba)", "Thank-you (Shukran) ", and "How much (Bikam)", as well as the numbers 1-10, but you'd be surprised at how far that can get you. There were hoards of taxi drivers all trying to get my attention. Finally I tried to ask one where we were which quickly turned into a comical game of charades. I said "Marhaba (Hello)" and ...

... looking local lad introduced himself and asked loadsa questions about me and all that *****. I ended up spending the day with him, meeting some of his friends, walking the city and then he took me to a barbers as he needed a shave. Im in need of a haircut and was toying with the idea as he was pretty persistant that i joined him but when we entered there was no electricity. The guy was shaving people with them cut throat razors by ****in torch light ...

... back of the traýn statýon to a lýttle shed lýke thýng wýth four guys and a fýre ýnsýde (the nýght was FREEEEEZING!) and a bottle of vodka on the table (whých dýdnt help me to take them serýously..) ý got out ýn the end but ým pleased to say ý dýd some quýck thýnkýng (Thýs really ýs a neccessýty of a story ýnvolvýng the secret polýce, dont you agree??) ýn the process.. After the secret polýce, we went to a concert that the old couple were goýng to and had told me about ...

... no teapots in Syria, because they mostly use teabags. I visited 2 hotels listed in Lonely Planet, before finally finding a spot at al-Salam for 500 Suris. There are many tourists in town. The city feels dirty because of the reeking smell and the sandy color of the buildings. Once again, I am alone after 6 days of family life. After dark, I got scared walking around the city. Totally internal. However, my fear is not uncalled for. The language has ...

... et dôté d'une masse d'excellents restaurants (on y reviendra), parce qu'il regorge de passages secrets et de lourdes portes derrière certaines desquelles se cachent de sublimes arrière-cours. Mais il y a des fois où l'addition tranquille des bons points ne suffit pas à expliquer la jolie réussite d'un ensemble, en l'occurence urbain. Mon weekend à Alep fut rythmé par ...

... an array of carpets, spices, foods and products. <br><br>Back at the hotel, soon enough, we were introduced to a legend; Mahmood. <br><br>Mahmood is the hotel's fixer. He is perhaps the most charming, helpful, courteous man I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He has worked at the hotel for some 40 years and through his contacts anything is possible. He will gladly sit down with you and talk about anything you like and assist you in whatever ...